Dry Hopping In Secondary: Boil Hop Bag?

Hey folks,

I am currrently working on my third batch, an IPA. I am going to be dry hopping in my secondary with 1.5 oz cascade (whole hops) and I've got a grain bag for it. My question is, should I boil the grain bag for a few minutes before I toss the whole works in my secondary? It has been sitting in the cardboard box that also holds caps/bottling sugar/notes on the beers/etc. Anybody have any preference on this? Your help is greatly appreciated!

Kitchi

Yes, it should be sanitized. I just use some no rinse sanitizer (like one-step or star san) in a bowl, and stick the bag in the bowl and soak for a couple of minutes. A sanitized marble (or 5) helps to weigh down the bag.

When I dry hop, I like to put the hops in the carboy first and then rack the beer onto them. But if it's already in the secondary, you can just add the hops to it.

Thanks alot, that's simple enough! It hasn't been racked to the carboy yet so i'll be sure to get the hops in there first. Also thanks for the heads-up on weighing it down...never even considered that it might float.

It floats, and some of the hops come out of the bag anyway. But using a bag does help.

Sometimes I use a bag, and sometimes I just throw them in. It doesn't seem to matter tastewise. Just remember to use a big bag (or two small ones) so that you don't "pack" them in there. They need to be loosely inside the bag so that they can be wetted and soaked into the beer.

Yeah, 1.5 oz of whole hops in a bag will expand a lot in the carboy. I've done that a few times and it's a bit of a squeeze getting the bag out afterward, and I use better bottles which have a wider mouth. Never thought of putting in multiple bags - will try it next time.

So I ended up just tossing the hops in after some MAJOR frustration trying to get the bag through the carboy hole...lesson learned. Anything I need to do differently now that I have all the loose hops in there?

I found it difficult to get the bag into the carboy but it came out surprisingly easily. I used a spray-bottle with no rinse cleaner to sanitize the bag and the two marbles inside.